One of the reasons I started Tax Docket was to provide a forum for potential Tax LL.M. candidates to obtain useful information about particular programs and discuss any reservations, concerns, or insights about such programs. Now that I have embarked on my pursuit of an LL.M. in Taxation, I would like to share some initial thoughts. These remarks are intended to be general statements about Graduate Tax Programs and are not meant to pertain solely to the program I am attending.
1. Get ready for some heavy lifting. If you are a third year considering pursing an LL.M. degree next year, you better hit the gym starting tomorrow. Do not wait to make it a New Year’s Resolution. To put it in perspective, I would say that the weight of my backpack everyday is at least 50 pounds . Luckily, my school provides “commuter” students with a locker. Some exercises you may want to consider are Front Squats or Lunges.
2. Code. Read. Statutory reading is the cornerstone of the Tax LL.M. program (at least that is how it seems so far). If you did not enjoy reading the Internal Revenue Code in your Basic Income Taxation course, you will likely not enjoy reading it at the LL.M. level.
3. Is this something you want to do? For many readers, it may be to early to tell whether you want to pursue an LL.M. in Taxation. However, I urge you to reflect on this question before making your ultimate decision. This program is unlike law school in the respect that every class you take (with some exceptions depending on course options at a particular school) pertains to tax, whereas in law school your schedule may be composed of a wide range of subject areas. Therefore, if tax does not seem like an area of law that you can see yourself immersing yourself in everyday, a Tax LL.M. may not be the appropriate route. That is not to say that you could never get a job in tax law without the LL.M.
I plan on posting some more of my thoughts regarding my experiences in the Graduate Tax Program as the year goes on.
That’s what Romanian senators may have been fearing when they rejected a proposal to tax witches and fortune tellers.
Lawmakers Alin Popoviciu and Cristi Dugulescu of the ruling Democratic Liberal Party drafted a law where witches and fortune tellers would have to produce receipts, and would also be held liable for wrong predictions, a measure which was part of the government’s drive to increase revenue.
Romania’s Senate voted down the proposal Tuesday. Popoviciu claimed lawmakers were frightened of being cursed.
It’s unclear if Popoviciu and Dugulescu will try to redraft the law.
According to an article from the Washington Post today, taxpayers spend 7.6 billion hours and nearly $140 Billion in order to comply with the Internal Revenue Code. This is reported a few days after the release of the President’s Economic Recovery Board’s report regarding the complexity of tax code. Evidence of the increased complexity of the code cited in the report is the enlargement of the Form 1040 (form used by individual taxpayers to file taxes) Instructions from 14 to pages to 44 pages and 15,000 changes to the code since 1986.
Tax Foundationhas posted A Review of 2010’s Changes in State Tax Policy. The article provides key changes in state income, sales, and other selective sales taxes such as cigarette taxes and soda taxes. A link to the article is below.
State tax officials, under orders from cash-strapped Albany to ramp up their audit and compliance efforts, have begun to enforce one of the more obscure distinctions within the state’s sales tax law.
In New York, the sale of whole bagels isn’t subject to sales tax. But the tax does apply to “sliced or prepared bagels (with cream cheese or other toppings),” according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance. And if the bagel is eaten in the store, even if it’s never been touched by a knife, it’s also taxed.
When you step up to order your cheeseteak at Pat’s King of Steaks, you order it “wit or wit out” onion. Well, for bloggers in Philly, they can only maintain their blog wit a tax. According to multiple articles, Philadelphia imposes a $300 “business privilege license” tax on local bloggers in addition to city wage taxes and taxes on net profits earned from blogging.
For our 10th Tax Track I found a nice southern treat. This is an old Zac Brown Band track called “Tax Man Shoes.” You probably know the Zac Brown Band tracks “Toes” and “Chicken Fried” and “Highway 20 Ride.” This Tax Track will definitely help get you get through today and allow you to coast into the weekend. Turn it up!
Trying to figure out what estate tax rates will apply next year is almost as frustrating for estate planners as it is for ESPN in trying to figure out whether Brett Favre will retire or not. Georgia estate planner John J. Scroggin took the uncertainty to another level. According to the Wall Street Journal’s Financial Adviser’s Blog, he asked a group of estate planners to place bets on how Congress would handle the estate tax. The Jackpot: $200. Scroggin thinks there are three possibilities for the estate tax. “The options are a 45% tax on estates over $2 million; a 60% tax on estates over $1 million; or 60% tax on estates over $2 million.”
If you are one of those die hard Apple owners, you may not want to watch this. A tax preparation company has created the advertisement below which compares paying too much in taxes to having your iPad shot with a shotgun.
Taxes take the top spot on the legislative agenda when Congress returns from its summer recess in September. Lawmakers have said they’ll take up legislation to provide a boost to small businesses and to extend some expiring (or expired) tax breaks. They’re also under pressure to reduce the budget deficit. It’s got to be paid for somehow.
One of the reasons I started Tax Docket was to provide a forum for potential Tax LL.M. candidates to obtain useful information about particular programs and discuss any reservations, concerns, or insights about such programs. Now that I have embarked on my pursuit of an LL.M. in Taxation, I would like to share some initial thoughts. These remarks are intended to be general statements about Graduate Tax Programs and are not meant to pertain solely to the program I am attending.
